Some Troubling Surprises in the New Highway Bill

Some news of interest to tax resisters in the
U.S.:

The on-again/off-again boondoggle of the federal government contracting out
to private debt collection agencies to pursue people behind on their taxes
is apparently back on again. By including the program in a new
transportation bill, its proponents could use the income they hope to see
from the program to offset other spending. It would probably be more
efficient for the government just to hire more
IRS
agents to go after the money, but there are few things a Republican
Congress would be less likely to do than give the
IRS
more money to increase the ranks of the National Treasury Employees Union.

My guess is that these private debt collectors are going to have a hell
of a time. Since the last time this sort of plan was floated, a massive,
years-long, ongoing, coast-to-coast scam has been in progress in which
callers impersonating tax collectors have been getting victims to pony
up money. News reports follow in the wake of the heists, all saying that
if someone calls you up about a supposed tax debt, it’s a scam. The
private agencies are gonna have a hell of a time distinguishing themselves from the scammers.

If the program is like the last one (and I haven’t seen the details yet,
so I’m not sure), the agencies will be able to keep 25% of what they
collect for themselves. It’s small consolation, but some consolation, to
know that at least some of the money won’t be going directly to the
government.

The bill hasn’t become law just yet. They’re still ironing out the
differences between the House and Senate versions. But both houses’
versions had both of these proposals, so they seem likely to survive
(though it’s not unheard of for parts of legislation that are passed
by each house to wind up on the cutting room floor regardless,
whatever you may
have heard on Schoolhouse Rock). Obama is expected to sign the bill
into law either way.

When the final bill is passed and signed I’ll take another look and
investigate what the process of passport denial/revocation might actually
look like in practice. And I’ll of course post something here if my
own passport gets yanked. I may even accept that as a challenge and see
if I can row a boat to Cuba or wade across the Rio Grande.

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